Bought my first ever motorbike

[Participant]

A Yamaha YBR 125.

I did my CBT last Thursday and absolutely loved it. So I went hunting in the usual places and a nice sounding bike turned up a few miles away from me, on Gumtree . Listed for £1,500, purchased for £1,350. Only 2,600 miles on the clock.

I went round to look at it this evening, it was really tidy. No dinks or rust or dents. I then immediately sorted insurance and did an HPI check, then went back in a taxi, bought it from him and rode it back home.

As soon as I'd shown it to my wife, I immediately took it back out for a ride round the country lanes near my house. I love it so much already. The feeling of freedom and fun is immense. Forgive me if I'm sounding slightly giddy.

I'm going to commute on it tomorrow...now to reap the MPGz! Should soundly beat the 30-if-I'm-lucky of my S80.

 

[Participant]

Oops, so I managed to not actually say what bike I bought! It's a Yamaha YBR 125.

I commuted with it today and it's so nice going past the queueing cars after a blast on some country lanes. Filled it up as the gauge was in the red...£7.83 .

It's pretty terrifying doing 60 on a bike like this. You feel like you're wobbling around quite a bit!

At lunch I went into town to have a zoom round Stratford upon Avon. You see so much more on a bike. Already had a van pull out on me at a roundabout though (he apologised), and people in vans seem to see the L plates and immediately take them as a signal to tailgate you and overtake you unsafely.

 

[Participant]

Come open her up down the Fosse Way some time Plenty of us out there on a nice day

Might wait until I have a bigger bike, but thanks for the offer . I go cycling in the Cotswolds quite a lot and its a great place to be on 2 wheels.

Best thing I've bought for visibility is auxiliary lights. Since fitting them a year ago I don't think I've had a single car pull out on me. Apparently the irregular shape of 3 lights really draws attention. Might look weird on a YBR though!

Maybe when I've got a 600.

Couple more pics following a wash this evening. They're not meant to be high quality pics as the light was low and I used my mobile, but it scrubs up well in the flesh.

Absolutely loved commuting back through town in the sunshine this evening. Commuting home is nice at the worst of times, but this was just great.